What are home support services and how can seniors access them? Are there sales tax credits available for low-income seniors? Do you qualify for Temporary Premium Assistance from the Medical Services Plan?
With the wealth of information and services available from government it can be hard to know where to start, or where to go. Fortunately, the BC Government has just launched SeniorsBC.ca, a website that puts within easy reach all the services and information pertaining to seniors in this province. The site is also a terrific resource for families and others who have seniors in their lives.
Not so long ago, a web-based resource such as this might not have been so useful. Fortunately, more and more seniors are becoming adept at using the Internet and the SeniorsBC.ca site is one of the best ways to share volumes of information, and to keep it current.
The SeniorsBC.ca site is organized around some key categories down the contents bar and the main portion of the page includes feature stories and breaking news.
The main categories of information are gathered under "Life" which includes topics such as housing, transportation, healthy living, legal issues, elder abuse and more. "Healthy Living" gathers information about the Medical Services Plan, hospitals and clinics, health, medication safety and more. "Finances" deals with income security, income and property taxes.
The type of information included on the site and the links it offers ranges from the mundane to the serious. For example, you can find out how to replace a lost CareCard. Or learn about how to prepare a will and do some estate planning. Readers can find help for seniors who are being abused or neglected.
The features section of SeniorsBC.ca offers topics like the SFU Continuing Education program which provides seniors with lifelong learning opportunities - other education institutions also offer similar courses for seniors, including ElderCollege for example.
Beyond the in-person opportunities demonstrated by SFU, there is also a link to online resources from the university: outreach services for seniors (www.sfu.ca/seniors/outreach.htm) which even includes links to online videos on subjects important to seniors.
Along with the launch of SeniorsBC.ca comes a partner e-newsletter that will be distributed several times a year. The inaugural issue is dated March 2010 and features current information on services and programs for BC seniors, stories about active seniors, healthy eating recipes and active aging tips. Subscribe via the links on the SeniorsBC.ca main page.
Resources for seniors are growing along with the general aging of our population, but as they grow, finding out what is available becomes more complex. Now there is one place to start for BC government services.
